We surveyed Tom's Guide readers about their free VPN use – and the results surprised us

Free VPNs are a popular alternative to their paid counterparts, and people often turn to them when looking to save a few dollars on a VPN subscription.

I generally encourage my readers to subscribe to one of the best VPNs to get access to all the tools that come with a premium service. But some reputable and secure free VPNs are available, albeit with reduced features.

Our guide to the best free VPNs details the free VPNs we recommend and what to look out for when subscribing to one. Dodgy free VPNs can host ads, collect and sell your data, or in a worst case scenario, be filled with malware, so picking the right one is key.

The Tom's Guide VPN team were interested in how many of our readers use free VPNs and what for. So, we whipped up a survey, put it on the aforementioned free VPN guide, and asked: "What is your primary reason for using a free VPN?"

Almost 2,000 of you responded to our poll, and streaming and privacy were the two biggest reasons given for free VPN usage – in fact, they were neck and neck.

Here, I'll take a closer look at this data, what you're using a free VPN for, and share some top tips to bear in mind when choosing the right software for you.

Streaming and privacy lead the way

Streaming and privacy accounted for nearly half of all responses. 48% of Tom's Guide readers used a free VPN for one of the two. This isn't a surprising figure, and I expected streaming and privacy to be among the highest free VPN use cases.

Reputable free VPNs protect your privacy in exactly the same way as their paid counterparts. PrivadoVPN Free, Proton VPN Free, and Windscribe Free all use the same encryption standards as the paid versions, and follow the same strict no-logs policies.

You may not have access to extra security features like multi-hop or split tunneling, but the core VPN privacy practices are there. If you're only browsing the web, and not after extra features, a free VPN will serve you just fine.

If you're not ready to pay for a VPN but want to protect your privacy, then free VPNs are a good place to start – I'm glad to see 24% of you have made this choice. But it's vital you're using the correct free VPN.

There are countless free VPNs listed on app stores, many of which have a range of positive reviews and hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of downloads. This may seem great, but don't be fooled. A vast majority of free VPNs on the market will pose a risk to your data – risks even greater than if you didn't use a VPN in the first place.

These free VPNs survive on harvesting and selling your data. If you want to protect your privacy it's vital you download a safe free VPN. I can only say for sure that the free VPNs we recommend will protect your privacy. Everything else carries a risk of endangering it.

It's a little different when it comes to streaming. The best streaming VPNs bring powerful unblocking capabilities, fast speeds, and unlimited data. Free VPNs can't match this, but in certain cases they can be used for streaming.

Both PrivadoVPN Free and Windscribe Free can unblock some streaming services. In our latest round of testing, both could unblock all Netflix regions, US Disney+, and BBC iPlayer. However, they both failed with US Amazon Prime Video and US YouTube.

The catch is that both of these VPNs have a 10 GB monthly data limit – although Windscribe's can be extended to 15 GB if you send a tweet mentioning Windscribe. 10 GB will cover you for approximately five hours of HD streaming or 10 hours of standard. This is fine if you're only going to be streaming infrequently, but if it's all day, every day, then this simply isn't enough.

Despite offering unlimited data, Proton VPN Free doesn't focus on unblocking streaming platforms. You can't select your VPN server, and Proton VPN Free connects you to the fastest server in one of its 10 locations. These are: the Netherlands, Romania, Canada, Norway, Mexico, Singapore, Japan, Poland, the US, and Switzerland.

This is made even more problematic because if you're not happy with your auto-assigned server, you need to wait 90 second after connecting before trying again – and there's still no guarantee you'll get the one you want.

In our testing, we found it could unblock US Netflix, but failed to unblock US libraries for other services. You're also limited by the locations Proton VPN Free offers. For example, it can't unblock BBC iPlayer because there's no UK location.

EventVPN is a free VPN built by the team behind ExpressVPN. It's only available on Mac and iOS, but it delivers decent speeds and unlimited data. You can choose your server from one of 36 locations, and it performed well in streaming tests, unblocking every platform we tested except 10Play.

However, EventVPN is full of ads. These are run through Apple and EventVPN claims that "any advertising stays entirely separate and distinct." You'll also need to wait 30 seconds before connecting/disconnect from servers. If you can handle all this, it's a very good free VPN for streaming. If you'll struggle with the UI or are particularly concerned about privacy, EventVPN is to be avoided.

If you're using a free VPN to stream and don't encounter any restrictions, it's likely you're using a potentially harmful free VPN. You may not care about your data, and accessing geo-restricted content may be all you want to do. I can't force you to stop doing this, but I'll warn you that you're likely paying with your data.

Most free VPNs, even the safe ones, aren't designed for constant, high-level streaming. You'll be able to watch a few hours every month, safe in the knowledge that your data is protected. But if you want all day, every day streaming, then a free VPN just won't cut it.

Avoiding censorship and changing location

243, or 13%, of you said you use a free VPN for "changing location." This can have a number of uses, from unblocking geo-restricted content to trying to save money on flights. Changing your location is required for most popular VPN use cases, so there may well be some overlap between this category and others in the poll.

Free VPNs change your location in the same way as premium VPNs. The only limit is the number of locations available to you – and whether you have full control over your server choice.

As mentioned above, EventVPN has a respectable 36 locations. Proton VPN Free has 10, while Windscribe Free and PrivadoVPN Free have 13 locations – including the UK, which isn't offered by Proton VPN Free.

Major locations in Europe and the US tend to be supported, but other regions can be hit or miss. These will be fine for most free VPN users, but compared to premium VPNs, the number of locations is minuscule – ExpressVPN boasts 188 locations, NordVPN has 178, and Proton VPN has 166.

15% of respondents said "avoiding censorship" was their reason for using a free VPN. Given the fact 4.6 billion were affected by internet censorship in 2026, this is a fairly low number.

However, data shows that Asia and Africa accounted for the majority of internet censorship cases – in 2026, we have already seen attacks on internet freedoms taking place in Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir, Iran, and Uganda. But these continents don't make up a majority of Tom's Guide's readership.

Most of our readers come from the US and Europe and what people in these regions are facing is age verification checks. Age verification laws swept across the US in 2025 and were prominently seen in the UK.

Reports suggest VPNs can bypass age verification checks and have been under attack in the UK and US as a result. It may well be that those 15% of poll respondents are using a free VPN to bypass age verification.

Free VPNs are a vital tool for millions to access a free and open internet. Proton VPN leads the way when it comes to anti-censorship features.

You can access Proton VPN Free as a guest, removing the need to create an account or enter your personal information. Android users can disguise their Proton VPN app, and its obfuscating Stealth protocol is available to Proton VPN Free users. Proton VPN Free's unlimited data means there's no limit to your monthly usage.

Windscribe Free also has its own obfuscating protocols – Stealth and WSTunnel. PrivadoVPN Free doesn't have its own proprietary obfuscating protocol, but its Windows app has Scramble. It says Scramble adds "obfuscation capability to OpenVPN."

VPN obfuscation is crucial for bypassing internet censorship. It disguises your VPN traffic and makes it appear like regular internet traffic, subsequently making it harder to block.

For many, free VPNs are the only viable option for bypassing internet censorship. Leading VPNs support anti-censorship features on their free plans and these are a must-have. Without using obfuscation, VPN traffic can be identified and that could have serious consequences for users.

Therefore, it's doubly important that you use a reputable and secure free VPN if you're navigating internet restrictions. Many free VPNs won't utilise this technology, meaning it won't just be your data at risk.

Any other uses?

11% of Tom's Guide readers use a free VPN for torrenting. Unfortunately, free VPNs are quite hit and miss when it comes to P2P, and generally don't support torrenting-specific features like port forwarding.

Proton VPN Free doesn't support P2P sharing, and port forwarding is only available for paying users. PrivadoVPN Free doesn't support port forwarding, but does appear to support P2P. Windscribe Free doesn't support port forwarding but allows, and supports, P2P traffic on all servers, in all locations.

Although P2P is supported on a few free VPNs, your data and speed limits will restrict you. If you know you'll be torrenting frequently and regularly, I'd recommend picking one of the best torrenting VPNs.

8% of respondents used a free VPN for gaming. Similar to streaming, you'll use up your monthly data allowance quickly when gaming. You also won't see the same speeds you would with the best gaming VPNs.

As I mentioned when discussing free VPNs for streaming, if you're using a free VPN for torrenting or gaming and experiencing no restrictions, your data is likely at risk. You'll only be able to use a free VPN for torrenting and gaming for a short time, and your server locations will be limited. So if this is your primary reason for using a VPN, it's better to subscribe to a paid plan.

Use the right free VPN

Most free VPNs out there are dangerous, data-guzzling, or both. We'd recommend you use PrivadoVPN Free, Proton VPN Free, or Windscribe Free. They're safe, secure, boast some decent features, and will suit most basic needs.

Although we wouldn't yet recommend these free VPNs ahead of those above, EventVPN, Hide.me Free, Hotspot Shield Basic, and TunnelBear Free have proven safe to use in our testing.

You may find you can stream or game with a different free VPN. But you're likely paying with your data. Turbo VPN and VPN – Super Unlimited Proxy are two popular free VPNs to avoid. But we'd advise you don't download any free VPN this article hasn't described as safe.

If you can stretch to a couple of dollars per month, the best cheap VPNs provide premium protection for a fraction of the price. You'll get thousands more servers, hundreds more locations, and unlock an array of worthwhile extra features.

Surfshark is our favorite cheap VPN, and its two-year plans start at $1.99 per month. PrivadoVPN's paid plan is $1.11 per month – it's one of the the cheapest premium VPNs out there.

Other VPN options under or at $2.50 per month are: Private Internet Access ($2.03 per month), CyberGhost ($2.03 per month), and Norton VPN ($2.50 per month).